A Brand. What is it exactly? Well first off don’t make the mistake of thinking your product and your brand are the same thing. Lots of companies may offer the same or similar products, but people will buy it from one of those companies over and over because of a sense of loyalty to the brand – think Coke and Pepsi, Chevrolet and Ford, iPhone and Galaxy.
It’s all about the feeling…
So if ‘branding’ might start with the company colours, uniforms, and logo etc, the brand includes the feeling people develop towards the company and its products. It’s an image, an idea, an emotional attachment – the whole experience of the customer to the full package – logo, products, website, social media engagement, advertising – everything. Their experience means buying and wearing or using a certain brand makes them feel a certain way. Maybe it’s the sense of style and fashion, or maybe it’s the ethics and values… or maybe it’s both. Whatever it is, there’s no denying that if you develop a strong brand your business can experience huge success, and the brand name itself can be worth a fortune.
Where do you start?
You know those pub quiz questions where they pass around a sheet of A4 with a load of logos printed on it, and you have to name as many as you can? It’s not so difficult in most cases is it? There’s the instantly recognisable Golden Arches of MacDonalds, the Nike swoosh, and of course the Apple with a bite out of it. There will be others too, but in each case, they have strong, memorable branding. We know the logo, we know the company, we know the product, and we know exactly what to expect from each of them. But these are big companies and they’ve been around a while. For the rest of us… we’d all love to have great branding like that because strong branding is key to being recognised – but where do we start?
It starts with the logo…
When it comes to customer service, telephone answering, engaging on social media platforms, advertising, and winning the loyalty of your target market, that’ll be down to you to put systems in place that build your brand the right way. When it comes to design and your branding, the best place to start is with your logo. If you can come up with a logo that represents your business well, you can then use it as a starting point to create consistent branding across your clothing, vehicle graphics, advertising, and your marketing materials – website, social media – the lot. Of course, we’d recommend you use a professional design company to make your ideas come to life, and to assist you with the creation of your logo and other tools and materials. Getting it right from the start gets you off on the right foot and saves you money in the future. If you’re starting your business and you have loads of ideas in your head, or you’re already established but feel your business branding needs a ‘freshen up’, why not let Absolute Creative help?
We are an innovative design agency based in Hertfordshire, and we work with businesses all over the UK designing company branding, marketing materials, and websites. You can read all about our award winning design on this page, and see some of our work in our portfolio.
To chat to us just call us on 01707 386 107 or email hello@absolutecreative.co.uk and we’ll get back to you asap.